Iranian director Asghar Farhadi honored at Spanish festival

TEHRAN – Two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi received an honorary award at the opening ceremony of the 20th edition of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival in the Spanish island on Friday as a significant figure of the history of the festival.

“Samak the Ayyar” published in English

TEHRAN – “Samak the Ayyar: A Tale of Ancient Persia”, one of the old Iranian stories, has been published in English.

Atlanta Film Festival picks five movies from Iran

TEHRAN – Five movies from Iranian filmmakers will be screened at the 45th edition of the Atlanta Film Festival, which will open in the U.S. city on April 22.

Saei steps down as Iran’s taekwondo technical director

TEHRAN – Hadi Saei stepped down from his role as technical director of Iran’s taekwondo national team.

South Korea PM visits Iran

TEHRAN—South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun arrived in Tehran on Sunday afternoon for talks with Iranian officials.

Martyrdom anniversary of Sayyad Shirazi marked

A ceremony was held on Thursday to commemorate the memory of Lt. Gen. Sayyad Shirazi who was martyred in front of his house in Tehran 22 years ago. The ceremony was arranged by the General Headquarters of the Army. Adbolrahim Musavi, the commander of the Army, attended the commemoration ceremony. Lt. Gen. Sayyad Shirazi was martyred by a senior MKO terrorist named Zohreh Qa’emi.

Iran, Kuwait to strengthen anti-narcotics co-op

TEHRAN – The Iranian anti-narcotics police chief Majid Karimi, and his Kuwaiti counterpart Mohammad Qabazard emphasized the need for enhanced cooperation to fight against drug trafficking.

Airborne imagery to study climate change in Hyrcanian forests

TEHRAN – The Forests, Range, and Watershed Management Organization has carried out aerial surveys on Hyrcanian forests using technological advances to identify the effects of climate change, ILNA reported on Sunday.

$2.3m proposed to implement national document for the elderly

TEHRAN – A total of 100 billion rials (nearly $2.3 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) has been proposed to implement the national document for the elderly, Hesameddin Allameh, secretary of the national council for the elderly, said.

Lake Urmia’s surface increased by over 1500 km²

TEHRAN – Lake Urmia’s surface area has reached up to 2,917 square kilometers, indicating 1,582 square kilometers increase in comparison to 2013 when the Lake Urmia Restoration Program began.

Efficiency of Iran’s thermal power plants reaches new record high

TEHRAN - The efficiency of Iran’s thermal power plants has reached a new record high of 39 percent for the first time in the history of Iran’s electricity industry, IRIB reported on Sunday quoting the managing director of the country’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH).

Iran claims three wrestling berths at Tokyo 2020 Asian qualifier

TEHRAN – Iranian wrestling freestylers secured three more berths at the Asian Olympic qualification tournament in Almaty in Kazakhstan.

TEDPIX falls 9,700 points on Sunday

TEHRAN- TEDPIX, the main index of Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), fell 9,775 points to 1.23 million on Sunday.

Annual plan for tax income realized by 107%

TEHRAN - Iran managed to collect 1.92 quadrillion rials (about $45.7 billion) of tax revenues during the past Iranian calendar year of 1399 (ended on March 20), showing that the country’s annual tax income plan has come true by 107 percent, according to Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand.

Iran announces ‘incident’ at Natanz nuclear plant

TEHRAN – Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), announced on Sunday that an “incident” has occurred at the Natanz nuclear plant affecting the plant’s electrical grid. 

Budget for supporting production of strategic crops up 82% this year

TEHRAN - Director-General of the Agriculture Ministry’s Planning and Budget Office has said the budget allocated for supporting the production of strategic agricultural products in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21) has increased by about 82.3 percent.

By Mehrdad Pahlavani

An accessible passkey to the West Asia crisis

How the nuclear deal can create a new solution?

 The circle of tensions in West Asia runs slow, and after a slow or modest pace, it can potentially plunge. Like a multi-pointer watch, West Asia has several cogwheels. As one of the cogwheels of conflict bounces, the rest will pursue. Alleviation of a single tension in the region doesn't help immune others, but the escalation of tension in West Asia needs to be defused, at least by quitting one of the cogwheels of pointers.

Sima Films to produce series on war hero General Ali Sayyad Shirazi

TEHRAN – Sima Films, a film production studio affiliated with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), announced on Sunday that it is producing a series on the war hero Ali Sayyad Shirazi.

Incident happens in part of the Natanz electricity network: nuclear spokesman

TEHRAN – The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced on Sunday that an accident has happened in part of the electricity network of the Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan province.

Iran’s Foolad join AFC Champions League group stage

TEHRAN – Iranian football club Foolad defeated the UAE’s Al Ain 4-0 and qualified for the 2021 AFC Champions League group stage.

Restoration to begin on ancient castle in western Iran

TEHRAN – The ancient castle of Hassan-Abad in the western province of Kordestan is scheduled to be revived and restored in near future, the provincial tourism chief has said. 

New items added to intangible cultural heritage list

TEHRAN – A total of 12 new items from the northwestern Zanjan province have been registered on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list, CHTN reported. 

10,000 sq meters of traditional cloth handcrafted in Iranian village monthly

TEHRAN – Weavers in the northeastern Iranian village of Rueen produce some 10,000 square meters of traditional cloth within a month. The village is famed as a hub of traditional textile in the country.